Loose-leaf binder.



W. H. AVERILL.

LOOSE LEAF BINDER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 25. l9l6.

1,275,198. Patented Aug. 13, 1918 2% IN \/E [\TII 25% WILLI M l-L, EREL UNIT WILLI MTH. AVEB LL ,dr Bo ton; 'M s sAcHrsEr s toosnmnnr an a" V hernias "spee ification of Letters' Patent; j

a ple-advanc nether25,191a, seriaino; 127,599.

To all .wiwmitmay mm.-

' Be it knownthat I, W L A HQ Avian-nit, I

a citizen of the'United States; residing Bostonin the county of Suffolk and. State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Loose-Leaf Binders,

' of which the following is a specification,

equipped with locking means for locking the v binder constructed and operable' to control cover members ,at any desired ,distancel apart within limits. The objcctofthe present-invention is to providean improved means for controlling and releasing the locks of .-the

alllotf the locks unison, to thesendthat the manipulation of a single control member may look or release all of vthe locks, whereby the separation of the ;cover nienibers to ,permit insertion or removal of leaves is inade simpler, and whereby also it is p ossible to provide a greater number of posts and locks than is possible where each of the-locks requires individual manipulation. I v

fllhe nature and principles of the means y wh c th f reg ng and r vQhie ts aresecurefcl, and the special .u tilit v thereof are set forth inthe following;specification-in connection with the drawings and detailed descriptionof oneeinbodiment of the inven ier n h drawings,

Ei'gurel gis'a perspective view of a ,loose ea hinder embfinhhisfi P e sea inv n ion with a collection of leaves associated therewith. p v I v V Fig; 2 {is s t na r i wl .1 the n 2+2 QrFig. lshowi i g'in me n ngless are a controller there r. I n V y n t; A

Fig. 3is a plan view ofthat portionof the binder in which the locks andgcontrollerare Q lt linedv Figs; 4 and 5 are sectional views on a largerscaleofone of the locksgand the controlfrneansltherefor in lockingand releasing positions, respectively.

6 1st, perspective view of an er the latches which formsan element oflthe lockng m ans a The same rejference characters indidhte the same pants in allthe figur s k c As in'the prior application alcove speci fied the bindertcomprises tWO angular plates i or jaws 11 "and 12 to which are hinged cover parts 13 and 14 respectively,: be?

ing .so arranged fihflltathe flange ,l-l of one overlaps the l2iofjtheouer. "To the aw 12 are connected holl'owp osts 15; 16 and to the jaw 11 are connected similar hollow PQS I l l f l i ficie l am ndmensions .to Qntr and slide within the posts 15,

16 respectively. Conveniently the jaw la d hQ lOW P st -ee i m d e lp at \or s ip rneta-l, preferably steel, althoughl do not limit'myself to any specific materials. Pref erably also the hollow posts are formed 10y rolling a b ank o th lma r l nt tuhular form and abutting their ,opposite' edges together. Preferably also the eans for attaching theposts ,to the aw members 12 respectively comprise tongues ,or tabs {19 on theendspfthe'posts 15 and 16,'which are P ss d hi ughSl in th aw 121ml en over on the outer side of such jaw; and similar tongues or tabs 20 (Figs. 3 and 51) on h po t 1an wh ch r passed through slots in the j.aw: 11 iand bentover QIlghhe Quterside ofsuch jaw. While the details ,of iconstruction, manuf n ar d s mb y, above e rib d a z preferable froin the "standpoint ,of economy,

they are;notles sential to the driventioh and y b de y m d fi w ubidepa tur from the invention and without going beyond ,the scope of protection of the claims Secured to thejaw or plate l2gin side or V the spaces surrounded the posts 1mm 18 are ratchet bars 21 and QQQeac-h {of which forms ,oneelement of a lock, the ,coinple mental element of which is cpnstituted by. a latch 23 in'th e pQSt and .a latch 24 ,in the post 118 Each rack ba'r'js preferably formed from .a strip of; sheet ,or'lplate metal having teeth out in its opposite edgesfand folded .or =hent about longitudinal median line to bring the .teethgparallel to oneanethe tTQ eS lqf I 312 are m d on n e d o h i'ra k ba and :P Sedth -Queh slots inttheplate 12- and bentoutward in ,the e eman e a th t u s n -20.- latches 2 3 and 24; are alike and each consistspf-a bar having-a toe hon one-end, an

operating finger 27 7 extending at an angle from the opposite end, and lugs 28, 29 forming pintles extending laterally at opposite sides from points near the angle between the be passed through the slot 30 into the interior of the post beneath, and its pintle lugs then lie in the notches 31 and 32 and rest on the upper edge of the post. The finger 27 extends on an inclination through the slot 30 as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5.

An operating bar 33 extends longitudinally of the plate 11 overlying the locations of the hollow posts. It is slotted and cut adjacent to each of these posts so as to provide adownwardly inclined tongue or abutment 34- and an upwardly inclined tongue or abutment 35 with an open space between. The finger 27 of each latch passes through one of these open spaces. When the bar is placed in the normal position, which is that shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the tongue 3% passes under the finger 27, raising the latter and bringing the latch toe 26 into engagement with one of the: teeth of the ratchet bar, thereby locking the parts of the binder together so that they can not be accidentally separated. When in'this position the control bar is locked against accidental displacement by a shoulder 36 (Fig. 2)

' formed on a latch 37 which lies in a notch 38 in one end of the control bar, such shoulder entering'a recess 39 in the plate 11. A leaf spring 40 which is secured at one end to the bar overlies the latch and presses down upon the latter so that its shoulder 36 enters the recess 39 and is retained therein, but the spring is yieldable to permit withdrawal of such shoulder from the recess by lifting up on a finger piece 41 of the latch. Said latch 37 is also preferably made as a stamping from stiif sheet metal and the finger piece is formed by bending down one end. Adjacent to the opposite end of the latch piece are lateral lugs 42 which occupy notches extending from the slot 38, being retained in such notches by the pressure of spring 40, whereby force applied outwardly upon the finger piece is effective to slide the control 'bar endwise.

' Then the control bar is thus moved endwise to the left, with respect to the arrange ment shown in the drawings, each down turned tongue 34 is withdrawn from engagement with the adjacent latch finger, and

:5 thereafter the upwardly inclined tongue 35 is caused to overlieand press down upon the latch finger, swinglng the latch so asto disengage its toe from the ratchet bar, the complemental member ofthe lock. The parts of the binder are then unlocked and are free to be separated by lifting the upper plate or jaw from the lower one, thereby uncovering the pile of leaves and withdrawing the inner members of the tubular posts from the outer members ofsuch posts.

Preferably that portion of the plate 11 over which the control bar liesis depressed to form a trough. or channel in which the control bar lies and by the sides of which it is guided. Tongues 43 cut from the stock of the plate 11 are bent over the edges of such channel or guideway to retain the control bar therein. The depth of this channel is slightly greater than the combined thickness of the control bar and the retaining tongues 23, whereby the latter inay be disposed substantially flush with the outer surface of those parts of the plate 11 at each side of the channel in order that the usual veneer of cardboard, leather, or other inaterial which is placed over the outer surface I three, or more. in number, making it unnecessary to manipulate each lock separately. A furtheradvantage is that the controlbar will remain in the l0ck-releasing position until returned, and'a's long asit'remains in this position the locks remain unlocked.

When returned to the lockingv or normal position the control bar is held by its latch shoulder 36 against "accidental displacement. When it is in this position the fingerv iece 41 lies close to the leaves and is under the overhang of the plates and covers of the binder, whereby it is guarded and is not liable to be accidentally caught and displaced. The construction here described adapts the binder to be made'at minimum cost and at the same time to be extremely durable, since all of the parts may bem'ade by punchand die work from'material such as sheet steel of a thickness of from one-fiftieth to one thirty-second of an inch more or less. As intimated before, however, so far as the principles of the invention are concerned, other materials and other modes of making and assembling of "parts may be employed within the scope of the invention as here claimed. 1' V f' What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A loose leaf binder comprising opposed plates or jaws, complemental post elements on said plates, a toothed locking bar secured to one of the plates projecting toward the other, a cooperating latch engaged with the other plate in a manner permitting oscillative motion, having a toe to engage a tooth of said bar and having an inclined operating finger, and a controller movably mounted on the last named plate and formed with a slot in which said finger lies, having a tongue at one end of said slot projecting under said finger to place the latch in locking relation with the bar 7 when the controller is moved in one direction, and having an element at the other end of said slot arranged to ride over and release the latch when the controller is moved in the opposite direction. I

2. A loose leaf binder comprising opposed plates or jaws having leaf-engaging members, a plurality of toothed locking members carried by one of said plates, a plurality of complemental latches carried oscillatively by the other of said plates each arranged to interlock with one of said locking members, and each having an operating finger, and a single controller having tongues arranged to engage the fingers of all said latches and swing the latter into locking position when moved in one direction and having other portions arranged to engage the fingers of all the latches simultaneously to disengage the latches from the locking members when the controller is moved in the opposite direction.

3. A loose leaf binder comprising oppositely arranged plates, complemental telescopic tubular posts connected at one end to each of the respective plates and projecting toward the other plate, the posts of one plate being adapted to enter the posts of the other plate, toothed locking bars secured to one of the plates within the posts thereof, the other plate having slots over the adja- Gcples of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, 'by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

portions to rest on the end of the post next.

to the plate, a toe to co-act with the adjacent locking bar, and a finger projecting through the slot in said plate, and a controller bar mounted movably on the last-named plate having slots through which the fingers of such latches pass, and provided with abutments on the opposite sides of said fingers for swinging the latchesinto engagement with the locking bars and out of engagement therewith as the controller bar is moved in one direction or the other..

4:. A loose leaf binder comprising opposed plates or jaws, locking bars connected to one of said plates,'cooperating latches pivotally engaged with the other plate for interlocking co-action with said bars, said latches having operating fingers, a controller bar movably mounted on the lastnamed plate having abutments arranged to engage the fingers of both latches on opposite sides as the controller is moved in one direction or the other for putting the latches into and out of engagement with the looking bars, and a finger piece connected with said controller having a shoulder adapted to interlock with a part of said plate for holding the controller in the position wherein it placesthe latches in such locking engagement. I v

5. In a loose leaf binder comprising op-V posed plates with leaf-engaging elements and complemental locking members and latches, an endwise movable controller bar for actuating said latches mounted on one of said, plates, and a controller bar latch connected to said bar and having a shoulder, the plate having a recess to receive said shoulder when the controller bar is in normal position.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

WILLIAM H. AVERILL.

Washington, D. 0." 

